2005 NAIAS: Winners of The 2005 North American Car of the Year and The 2005 North American Truck of the Year
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DETROIT, Jan. 9, 2005 -- Forty-eight automotive journalists from the United States and Canada have selected the Chrysler 300/300c as the North American Car of the Year. The Ford Escape Hybrid was chosen as the North American Truck of the Year.
It was the second year in a row that a hybrid vehicle has been honored by the group. Last year the Toyota Prius was the North American Car of the Year.
A hybrid uses an electric motor to boost or temporarily replace a conventional gas or diesel engine, resulting in reduced emissions and better fuel economy.
Each year since 1994 the jury of automotive journalists representing newspapers, magazines and television honors a new car and a new truck that set the new standard in their segments in areas including innovation, value for the dollar, safety, ride and handling.
The awards are unique in the United States because they are not given by a single publication or television show. The correct name is the "North American Car of the Year" and "North American Truck of the Year," not "Car of the Year" or "Truck of the Year."
Early in December the journalists voted on 17 new cars and 12 new trucks. The ballots were sent to Steven Laughman, a partner at the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.
The names of the finalists were released on December 13th. The finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler 300/300C, the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette. The finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Ford Freestyle and the Land Rover LR3.
While the names of the finalists were released only Laughman knew the winners. Today at the news conference Laughman handed over two envelopes containing the names of the winners to John McElroy, a member of the organizing committee for the awards, who presided over the news conference.
Each juror was given 25 points to divide among cars and 25 points to divide among trucks. However, no more than 10 points may be given to a single car and a single truck. That means the most points a car or truck could get for 2005 would be 480 points.
The Chrysler 300 got 313 points, the Ford Mustang 256 and the Corvette 108.
The Ford Escape Hybrid got 232 points, the Land Rover LR3 got 163 and the Ford Freestyle 148.
Here are the vehicles on which the jurors voted: North American Car of the Year Acura RL Audi A6 BMW 6-Series Buick LaCrosse Cadillac STS Chevrolet Corvette Chrysler 300/300C Dodge Magnum Ford Five Hundred Ford Mustang Honda Accord Hybrid Honda Odyssey Pontiac G6 Porsche 911 Scion tC Subaru Legacy Volvo S40/V50 North American Truck of the Year Chevrolet Equinox Dodge Dakota Ford Escape Hybrid Ford Freestyle Ford F-Series Super Duty Hyundai Tucson Infiniti QX56 Jeep Grand Cherokee Land Rover LR3 Nissan Frontier Nissan Pathfinder Toyota Tacoma
Last year's North American Car of the Year was the Toyota Prius, while the North American Truck of the Year was the Ford F-150.
The awards are funded by dues paid by jurors and are administered by a seven-person organizing committee. For 2005 the members of that committee are Tony Swan (Car and Driver); John McElroy (Autoline Detroit); John Davis (MotorWeek); Don Chaikin (Popular Mechanics); Alex Law (Freelance); Mitch McCullough (New Car Test Drive) and Christopher Jensen (The Plain Dealer).
There is background information below.
For other information contact members of the organizing committee at these cell numbers:
Christopher Jensen - 216-401-0516 Tony Swan: 248-760-7432 Don Chaikin: 917-854-5672. Alex Law: 416-463-0866. John Davis: 410-967-0188 John McElroy: 313-475-2735 HERE ARE THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS: 2005
For 2005 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year are the Chevrolet Corvette, the Chrysler 300/300C and the Ford Mustang.
For 2005 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year are the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Ford Freestyle and the Land Rover LR3.
2004
For 2004, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Toyota Prius, the Mazda RX-8 and the Cadillac XLR. The winner was the Prius.
For 2004, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford F-150, the Nissan Titan and the Cadillac SRX. The winner was the Ford F- 150.
2003
For 2003, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Infiniti G35 Coupe, the Nissan 350Z and the Mini Cooper and Cooper S. The winner was the Mini Cooper/Cooper S.
For 2003 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Volvo XC90, the Hummer H2 and the Honda Element and the Nissan Murano, which tied. The winner was the Volvo XC90.
2002
For 2002, the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Nissan Altima, the Ford Thunderbird and the Cadillac CTS. The winner was the Nissan Altima.
For 2002, the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Chevrolet Avalanche, the Chevrolet Trailblazer and the Jeep Liberty. The winner was the Chevrolet Trailblazer.
2001
For 2001, the finalists for North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius. The winner was the PT Cruiser.
For 2001 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Acura MDX, the Ford Escape and the Toyota Sequoia. The winner was the Acura MDX.
2000
For 2000 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Ford Focus, the Audi TT and the Lincoln LS. The winner was the Ford Focus.
For 2000 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Nissan Xterra, the Dodge Dakota Quad Cab and the Toyota Tundra. The winner was the Nissan Xterra.
1999
For 1999 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Volkswagen New Beetle, the Honda Odyssey and the Chrysler 300M. The winner was the Volkswagen New Beetle.
For 1999 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. The winner was the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
1998
For 1998 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chevrolet Corvette, the Audi A6 and the Lexus GS300/400. The winner was the Chevrolet Corvette.
For 1998 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz ML 320, the Dodge Durango and the Subaru Forester. The winner was the Mercedes-Benz ML 320.
1997
For 1997 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz SLK, the Jaguar XK8 and the BMW 5-Series. The winner was the Mercedes-Benz SLK.
For 1997 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford Expedition, the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota RAV 4. The winner was the Ford Expedition.
1996
For 1996 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler minivan, Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The winner was the Chrysler minivan.
For 1996 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Ford F-150, the GMC Yukon/Chevrolet Tahoe and the Range Rover 4.0 SE. The winner was the Ford F-150.
1995
For 1995 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Chrysler Cirrus, the Ford Contour and the Oldsmobile Aurora. The winner was the Chrysler Cirrus.
For 1995 the finalists for the North American Truck of the Year were the Chevrolet Blazer, the Ford Explorer and the Ford Windstar. The winner was the Chevrolet Blazer.
1994
For 1994 the finalists for the North American Car of the Year were the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Chevrolet Camaro and the Toyota Supra. The winner was the Mercedes C-Class.
For 1994 the finalists for North American Truck of the Year were the Dodge Ram pickup, the Chevrolet S-10/GMC Sonoma and the Land Rover Defender 90. The winner was the Dodge Ram.
HERE ARE THE NAMES OF THE JURORS Karl Brauer Edmunds.com Csaba Csere Car and Driver Don Chaikin Popular Mechanics John Davis MotorWeek-PBS Network & SpeedCHANNEL Matt DeLorenzo Road & Track Denis Duquet Le Monde de l'auto Jacques Duval Chief Editor - Le Guide de l'auto/ Paul Eisenstein TheCarConnection.com Royal Ford Boston Globe / New York Times Service John Gilbert Freelance/Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine Ken Gross Playboy/Automedia.com John Harter WJLA-TV/Washingtonian Magazine James Healey USA Today Dan Jedlicka Chicago Sun Times/MSN Autos Cheryl Jensen Freelance Christopher Jensen The Plain Dealer/Newhouse News Service Dale Jewett Automotive News Ann Job Freelance Jim Kenzie Toronto Star "Wheels"/TSN's Motoring 2005 Michelle Krebs Freelance Marc Lachapelle Sympatico /MSN Autos John Lamm Freelance/Road & Track Tom Lankard Freelance Edward Lapham Automotive News Alexander Law Freelance Dutch Mandel AutoWeek Jim Mateja The Chicago Tribune Dan McCosh Freelance Denise McCluggage Drive, She Said Jim McCraw Car and Driver/Popular Mechanics Mitch McCullough New Car Test Drive John McElroy Autoline Detroit Sue Mead Freelance Matt Nauman San Jose Mercury News Jayne O'Donnell Freelance Frank E. Peiler Consumer Guide Mark Phelan Detroit Free Press John Rettie Freelance Jeremy Sinek World of Wheels Steven Cole Smith Orlando Sentinel Tony Swan Car and Driver Alex Taylor Fortune Magazine Rich Taylor Freelance Ray Thursby Freelance David Van Sickle All About Autos Bill Visnic Ward's Auto World Howard Walker St. Petersburg Times Paul Weissler Motor Tony Whitney CanWest Newspapers/Driver's Seat TV
American Truck of the Year